Dole plc

I'll call over to Head of Investor Relations with Dole PLC, James O'Regan.

Thank you. Welcome, everybody, and thank you for taking the time to join our third quarter 2023 Earnings Conference call and webcast. Joining me on the call today is our Chief Executive Officer, Rory Byrne, our Chief Operating Officer, Johan Linden, and our Chief Financial Officer, Jacinta Devine. During this call, we'll be referring to presentation slides to supplement your remarks, and these, along with our earnings release and other related materials, are available on the Investor Relations section of the DOLE PLC website. Please note, our remarks today will include certain forward-looking statements within the provisions of the Federal Security Safe Harbor Law. These reflect circumstances at the time they are made, and the company expressly disclaims any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements. Actual results or outcomes may differ materially from those that may be expressed or implied due to a wide range of factors, including those set forth in our SEC filings and press releases. Information regarding the use of non-GAAP financial measures may be found in our press release, which also includes a reconciliation to the most comparable GAAP measures. With that, I'm pleased to turn today's call over to Rory.

Thank you, James. Welcome, everybody, and thank you for joining us today as we discuss our results for the third quarter. So, turning to slide six and the financial highlights of the third quarter. Well, following on from our good performance for the first half of the year, we are very pleased to report another strong result for the third quarter. We delivered revenue and adjusted EBITDA growth, driven mostly by our two diversified fresh produce segments. Group revenue increased by 4.2%, driven largely by higher pricing, and adjusted EBITDA increased by 7.6%. Adjusted diluted earnings per share was $0.24 for the quarter, compared to $0.28 in the prior year, with a reduction primarily due to higher year-on-year interest expense. We continue to focus on optimising our balance sheet and we are pleased to report that an excess of $45 million cash proceeds were realised from the sale of surplus lands in Hawaii and Honduras in the quarter. Combined with good working capital management across the group, these proceeds contributed to a reduction in our net leverage to 2.4 times at the end of September. So now we turn to slide eight for our operational highlights. Our fresh fruit segment delivered another good result in Q3. The result was driven by a strong performance from our European operations, which continued to benefit from a better supply-demand balance in 23 compared to 2022. In North America, our operations are continuing to perform well in spite of intense competition in the marketplace, higher sourcing costs, and the impact of lower commercial cargo profitability. As always, supply and demand dynamics in the banana market, and to a lesser extent the pineapple market, remain important variables as we approach the end of 2023. Weather remains the most important variable we're monitoring, and the impact of El Niño in particular. Very high levels of accumulated rainfall in Ecuador in the year to date, which have impacted production volumes and spot prices. Banana supply is currently tight and is forecast to decrease for next year. state, we've managed the challenges posed by MNEO very well and we remain keenly focused on maintaining good drainage, irrigation and flood protection in our farms and optimising our diverse sourcing base so that we continue to service our customers well even if supply challenges persist. Moving on then to our diversified EMA business, our diversified EMA segment has continued its good momentum from the first half of the year. delivering another quarter of strong revenue and adjusted EBITDA growth. Revenue growth continues to be driven by higher pricing, as well as the expected benefit from foreign currency translation after we experienced translation headwinds in 2022. At current exchange rates, we expect to see a further marginal benefit from FX translation in the fourth quarter. We continue to make good progress by managing our cost base efficiently and delivery of synergies across this segment. We've seen the benefits of our investments in ripening, handling and pre-packing, and these are supporting further expansion across the European marketplace. We also continue to identify and execute on small boats on acquisition opportunities that are delivering value for the group. Altogether, we're expecting to have a positive end to 2023 in this segment. Our diversified America segment had an improved performance in the third quarter, benefiting from a favourable prior year comparative. Improved supply chain conditions in 2023 are allowing for better export conditions and we anticipate a more stable performance in this regard in the fourth quarter also. Our performance in the North American market remains robust across most of the commodities in market, driven by stronger pricing, which is offsetting lower volumes and some ongoing challenges in the berry category. Looking ahead to the remainder of the year, we are keenly focused on the start of the Southern Hemisphere export seasons in some of our important categories, such as cherries and grapes, and delivering a strong service to our customers. Turning to the fresh vegetable divisions, as you know, earlier this year we announced our decision to sell our fresh vegetable division to Fresh Express, and the regulatory review is still ongoing. We do need to let that review play out, so we cannot provide any substantive updates today. We do, however, have some concern regarding the length of the regulatory review. While a combination with Fresh Express is still, in our view, the best outcome for all stakeholders, if we are not able to close that transaction due to regulatory reasons or otherwise, we remain committed to exiting the business. We continue to believe that doing so will benefit our strategic priority of accelerating growth in our core business areas. So with that, I'll hand you over to Justin to give the financial review.

Thank you, Rory, and good day, everyone. Firstly, turning to the group results on slide 10. From group perspective, the results for the third quarter were very pleasing. Revenue increased 82 million or 4.2%. And on a like-for-like basis, the increase was 1.2%. Adjusted EBITDA increased 6 million to 85.2 million. Growth in diversified fresh produce India and diversified fresh produce America and the rest of the world were the key drivers. and our fresh fruit segment delivered a strong result against a strong prior year benchmark. On a like-for-like basis, adjusted EBITDA increased 4.2%. For the first nine months of the year, we delivered 308 million of adjusted EBITDA, an increase of 25 million compared with the prior year. Net income increased to 54 million from 46.6 million and income from continuing operations was 55.7 million compared to 58.3 million. The increase in net income was driven by higher adjusted EBITDA and again on sale of assets of 28.8 million. Diluted EPS from continuing operations was 50 cents and diluted EPS was 48 cents, a 14% increase from the prior year. Adjusted net income decreased to 22.6 million from 26.2 million, and adjusted diluted EPS was 24 cents compared to 28 cents in the third quarter of 2022. The decrease was predominantly driven by the increase in interest expense over the last 12 months, as well as higher income tax expense partially offset by the increase in adjusted EBITDA. In the third quarter, underlying performance within the fresh vegetable business continues to improve despite an ongoing challenging operating environment. And this can be seen in the decreased loss from discontinued operations for the third quarter of 2023 compared to 2022. Turning now to the division updates for our continuing operations and starting with fresh fruit on slide 12. The fresh fruit division delivered good results in the third quarter Revenue decreased marginally by 0.3%. The decrease was primarily due to lower banana pricing in North America, which is partially offset by higher worldwide volumes of bananas sold, an increase in worldwide pricing of pineapple and stronger banana pricing in Europe. Adjusted EBITDA decreased by 4 million or 8.6%. due to a strong comparative third quarter in 2022. The decrease was mainly due to lower revenue, higher food sourcing costs, and a decrease in commercial cargo activity, partially offset by lower shipping and logistics costs, as well as by strong underlying pricing. Turning to diversified fresh produce in VEA, this division performed very strongly in the quarter, with a revenue increasing 12.7%, driven by a favorable impact from foreign currency translation and price increases across the segment. On a like-for-like basis, revenue increased 4.8%. Adjusted EBITDA increased by 4 million or 13.8%, again, positively impacted by foreign currency translation. On a like-for-like basis, the increase was 6.6%, driven by a strong performance in Ireland, the UK, Spain, and the Netherlands. Finally, diversified fresh produce Americas and rest of the world on slide 14. As expected, this segment outperformed the comparative period in the third quarter. Revenue decreased 2%, primarily driven by lower revenue for berries in North America, as well as by lower volumes of most other commodities, partially offset by inflation-justified price increases. Adjustability of the DA was 5.2 million, an increase from a 900,000 loss in the prior year, The prior year loss was due to one-off supply chain disruption, which impacted the Chilean grape business. There was a continued strong performance in most marketed products in North America in quarter. Now turning to slide 15 to discuss our cash generation, capital allocation, and leverage. Firstly, I draw your attention to our cash flow statement in our GAAP financial statements and highlight that this is now a space between continuing operations and discontinued operations. We have set out a definition of free cash flow from continuing operations and non-GAAP measure in the appendix of our press release and also on this slide of our earnings presentation. For the first nine months of 2023, free cash flow from continuing operations was 105.8 million, driven by strong adjusted EBITDA performance and good management of working capital across the group. For the full year, our current expectation is that working capital will be neutral and we are targeting free cash flow from continuing operations of at least 110 million. Capital expenditure from continuing operations was 15.7 million in the third quarter. Expenditures included farm renovations and bananas, new plantings and plantains, and ongoing investments in IT, logistics, and efficiency projects in our warehouses and processing facilities. For the full year, we now expect CapEx from continuing operations to be 85 million. We continue to dispose of non-core assets within the group, and as Rory mentioned, we received proceeds of 45.5 million in the quarter, primarily from the sale of a large parcel of land in Hawaii. At the end of September, the combined value of our assets held for sale and actively marketed property was 24 million, and we remain optimistic that we can deliver further asset sales in the fourth quarter. Interest expense has increased approximately 5.2 million year-over-year to 20.9 million following the rise in rates over the past 12 months. For the full year, we are retaining our forecast of 90 million, which is inclusive of interest expense allocated to discontinued operations. Continuing our commitment to return cash to shareholders, we are pleased to declare a dividend of 8 cents for the third quarter which will be paid on January 4th, 2024, to shareholders on record on December 14th, 2023. Finally, we are pleased that the strong free cash flow generation and asset sales contribute to a reduction in our leverage to 2.4 times at the end of the quarter, continuing the downward trend in our leverage over the last 12 months. Now, I will hand you back to Rory, who will give you an update on our full year outlook and closing remarks.

Thanks, Jacinta. Well, the results of the group over the first nine months of the year have been very pleasing. Group revenue is 6.2 billion, 3.2% ahead of 22, and group adjusted EBITDA of 308 million is 9% ahead. This translates to an adjusted EBITDA margin of 5% compared with 4.7% for this first nine months of 22. While the wider macro environment continues to remain complex and weather impacts remain unpredictable, we are confident in the strength of our diversified supply base and the experience and quality of our operating teams across the globe to deal with challenges as they arise. Overall, our strong results in the first nine months position us well to deliver a good result for the full year, and we are now targeting an adjusted EBITDA for 2023 of at least $365 million. Our strategic priorities for the remainder of the year remain the same, and to recap, these are accelerating growth in our core business areas and categories, exiting the fresh vegetable business, focusing on cost control and operating efficiencies across our businesses, including the ongoing value creation and collaboration projects, and continuing with a disciplined approach to capital. I want to finish by once again thanking all our people across the group for their ongoing commitment and dedication to drive Dole PLC forward, as well as our suppliers and customers for their ongoing support, which provides us with confidence as we look out towards the remainder of the year. With that, I'll hand it back to the operator, and we can open the line for questions.

Thank you. If you have a question, please press star 1 on your telephone keypad. If you wish to remove yourself from the queue, simply press star 1 again. One moment, please, for your first question. Your first question comes from the line of Chris Barnes of Deutsche Bank. Your line is open.

Hi, good afternoon, and thanks for the question. I guess first, Rory, I just wanted to ask about El Nino. I know you called out the Ecuador rains impacting banana supply conditions, but there's also been a fair amount of trade press regarding shipping bottlenecks through the Panama Canal amid the drought there. So it'd be great just to hear a status update on what you're seeing on the ground today and how you expect these conditions to evolve over the coming months.

Yeah, I mean, you are seeing, and we've highlighted the areas that have impacted us or have the potential to impact us most, and Ecuador obviously is a huge banana producing country and you've seen unusual rains there. You're right, you have seen drought in the areas around Panama and there are restrictions on the use of the Panama Canal. So far, that hasn't had a material impact or hasn't had even any material impact on us, even for the banana business, we don't tend to cross the Panama Canal. Peru and Chile are having a little bit of volatility and unusual rains as well that can affect either grapes or cherries in particular over the next couple of months, so we're keeping a close eye on that. So far so good with our diverse sourcing base across the different countries and the different geographies, we're managing our way through it adequately, but it is something that we will just keep our eyes on as it evolves over the next six months.

Got it. That's helpful. And then I just wanted to follow up on the fresh vegetables transaction. I mean, I appreciate the updated language in your filing and in your prepared remarks. But maybe could you just offer some perspective around what shape the alternatives you mentioned might take to the extent that you can't close the transaction with Fresh Express? It looks like the business is still under some pressure based on the step back in revenue this quarter. Okay, so maybe could you just talk about what drove that softness and maybe how EBITDA, like EBITDA excluding the cyber incident is trending year to date, just as we contemplate potential alternatives for that business? Thanks.

Johan, maybe you could make some comments on the trading aspects of our business, please.

Yeah, so when we look at the trading, we have a much better performance this year compared to 2022. It's mainly driven by better performance in the fresh pack, our commodity business, whole head. But we're also doing better in our fresh, in the packet salads side of the business. So overall, we're doing much better, but we could do even better. So we're not pleased with the performance, but we are moving in the right direction. We feel we are supplying our customers well. So we believe we are in a good position also to recapture some of the market share that we have lost.

Got it, thanks.

Hi, good morning everyone. Do we have a question? Hi, is it, can you hear me?

We can hear you, yes.

Okay, great. So, I guess, Rory, just thinking about the updated guidance, the 365 for at least the 65th of the year. Last year, the two diversified segments did about 37 million adjusted EBITDA in the fourth quarter. So, just help me think about how you're thinking about the all three businesses relative to the parity. I know that's true. How should we think about the implied 4Q guidance relative to last year's performance?

It may be just me, Adam, but the line is not perfect. I think I caught the question that it was just some clarity around the guidance for the full year and some focus on the fourth quarter. I suppose the question of guidance is not an exact science. It is true to say that we had a very, very strong finish to quarter four last year. And really what we're doing is we're giving a good, strong message with the greater than 365 expected for the full year. So trading is fine at the moment. And that really is the summary of our position on guidance.

Okay, and then you talked about more competition and fresh fruit in North America. How should we think about that kind of marketplace dynamic relative to what seems to be a tightening supply environment on bananas as we move into 2024?

Yeah, I think it would be an interesting dynamic. We operate in a competitive world as ever, I guess, over the last year or so. It has seemed and felt a little bit more competitive than usual. There is the backdrop of those supply dynamics, and we do expect a shorter amount of fruit, but normally goes to price. So We'll see. But again, we're an experienced team. We've been dealing with these kinds of challenges forever, and we'll continue to deal with them hopefully in a successful way going forward over the course of 2024 and into the future.

Okay. I appreciate it. I'll pass it on. Thanks.

Thanks, Adam.

Again, if you would like to ask a question, please press star 1 on your telephone keypad. Your next question comes from the line of Gary Martin of Davey. Your line is open.

Hi, Rory, Jacinta, and Johan. Just congrats on a good set of results, just to start things off. So just two questions from my side. First, just on the input cost backdrop. I mean, I appreciate there's been some softening of key input costs, but I think just general kind of procurement costs have gone up. Is that just the impact of, we'll say, a higher Costa Rican colan or higher... Colombian Pesos, is it just currency-based inflation that you're seeing there? And then just secondly, just on the kind of pipeline of asset sales that you have into the fourth quarter. I'm going to appreciate it. Actually, Jacinta gave good color in the preferred remarks. But if you could just give us a bit of an update as to, you know, kind of what you're seeing there and what you expect in the fourth quarter in terms of asset sales. Thanks.

Maybe just, Johan, you take the first of those and Jacinta, you could comment on the second one perhaps.

Okay, so if you look at the cost pressure that we're having, they're coming a little bit from all over the place, but you're right to point out it's coming from the currencies. The Costa Rican colon has been very strong, so that is impacting cost. We also see the growers having pressures when it comes down for the independent growers that we're having. They have pressures when it comes to salary increases on the field. So we see them asking for higher pricing, and you can see that in the official price coming out of Ecuador, that that is coming up, so we're gonna have to pay some more for the fruit. But on the other hand, we see some other input cost moderating. We see paper moderating. We believe there is something to be done in shipping. So we see cost pressure, but we believe that we are in a good pressure, in a good position to handle them.

Jacinta on the Circus Office. Yeah.

Hi, good morning, Gary. Yeah, so just to recap, so in the quarter we delivered sales of 45 million and year-to-date we've achieved 64 million. So we have a pipeline, if you like, of 24 million which sits on our balance sheet. And we're working through sales for the fourth quarter, but it's really very difficult to predict the timing on when sales will close. Obviously, Q3 was very strong and we wouldn't expect anything at that level going into Q4, but I'm hoping for some small incremental asset sales before the end of the year. But again, timing is difficult to predict.

Excellent. Good call. I'll pass it on.

There are no further questions at this time. I'll now turn the call over to Rory for some closing remarks.

Okay, thank you all for joining us today and obviously we're very pleased with our third quarter and our year to date numbers. The third quarter represents another strong quarter in a sequence now of consistent good quarterly performances. As ever, plenty of challenges out there, plenty of opportunities, but we do look forward to the future with great enthusiasm, confidence and optimism. So thank you all very much for joining us today.

This concludes today's conference call.

You may now disconnect.